Did you know that the term “spam”, as in unwanted email, comes from a Monty Python skit where a group of Vikings sing the word spam over and over in order to drown out everyone else around them. Well I didn’t know this piece of trivia until I started reading Internet for Dummies Australian Edition – though the book does contain a lot of useful information and not just trivia.
I was somewhat skeptical when I first received the press release for this book. The Internet has been around for a while, and you would think that most people who are ever going to use the Internet have been using it for years.
Though, having said that, I am starting to notice that there are a group of people who know how to use the Internet, but only within certain parameters, such as say, browsing the Internet, and sending and receiving emails, and I suspect it’s these people who would benefit from a reference such as this.
Like most Dummies books, this book is well written, and very well structured. The Dummies forumula clearly works, so why mess with it? This Australian edition has been Australianised (if there is such a world) by Paul Wallbank, so the book discusses technology that is actually available in Australia, and has Australian examples (for example, when talking about websites).
It covers areas such as:
- Install and use a web browser, including Internet Explorer and Firefox, but not Google Chrome
- Setting up and use an email account
- Talking over the Internet using Skype
- Creating a simple Web page, website or blog
- Publishing and sharing photos on Flickr
- Uploading and viewing videos on YouTube
- Using search engines, music and video sites, shopping sites and financial services
- How to download files
- How to use instant messaging
It also covers tricky issues such as ensuring your privacy online and how to remember all your passwords.
If you’re a beginner you’ll get a lot out of this book, and even if you’re an intermediate user, I suspect you’ll learn a thing or two. However, if you’re an advanced Internet user, you’ll have learnt all of this a long time ago.
Published by Wiley Australia, 382 pages, estimated retail price AUS$39.95.
